The present invention relates to a bass drum lifter for use in lifting a part of a bass drum in the vicinity of the batter head, and a bass drum having the bass drum lifter.
In general, a bass drum with a small diameter is played with a part in the vicinity of the batter head lifted up so that the center of the batter head is hit by the beater. In this case, a bass drum lifter is used as a device to lift the part in the vicinity of the batter head.
For example, a bass drum lifter 100 disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2006-047976 includes, as shown in FIG. 8, a retainer 101 connected to a shell S of a bass drum, a base 102 connected to a pedal device P, and a shaft 103 for rotationally connecting the retainer 101 and the base 102 to each other. The bass drum lifter 100 according to this document is used by placing the base 102 on a floor surface F and connecting the distal end of the base 102 to the pedal device P. When the bass drum lifter 100 is not used, the pedal device P is removed from the bass drum lifter 100 and then the base 102 is placed in a storage position in the vicinity of the shell S by being rotated around the axis of the shaft 103 as shown by alternate long and two short dashed lines in FIG. 8.
In addition, a bass drum lifter 110 disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,563,346 includes, as shown in FIG. 9, a hinge 111 connected to a shell S, a leg 112 fixed to a metal piece of the hinge 111, and a base 113 arranged at the lower end of the leg 112. The bass drum lifter 110 according to this document can take a use form as shown by alternate long and two short dashed lines in FIG. 9 and a non-use form as shown by solid lines in FIG. 9 by rotating the leg 112 around the axis of a hinge shaft 111a. 
The bass drum lifters 100 and 110 according to Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2006-047976 and U.S. Pat. No. 2,563,346 can be folded compactly by placing the base 102 and the leg 112 in the storage position. The bass drum lifters 100 and 110 can be stored and carried while being attached to the bass drum in a folded state.
However, the bass drum lifters 100 and 110 have following problems. In the case of the bass drum lifter 100, the retainer 101 includes a loading portion 101a adapted to be fixed to an outer peripheral surface of the shell S, and a pair of connectors 101b projecting downward from the sides of the loading portion 101a. The shaft 103 is fitted to the vicinity of the lower ends of the connectors 101b. Therefore, even if the base 102 is placed in the storage position as shown by the alternate long and two short dashed lines in FIG. 8, the base 102 simply rotates around the vicinity of the lower end of the retainer 101 with no significant reduction in the vertical dimension of the bass drum lifter 100. It is therefore impossible to fold the bass drum lifter 100 compactly.
In the case of the bass drum lifter 110, the hinge shaft 111a is arranged in a rear position away from a batter head DH. According to the above configuration, the front-rear dimension of the base 113 when the leg 112 is placed in the use position is set to be relatively long based on a distance d between a position connected to the pedal device P and the hinge shaft 111a. Therefore, even if the leg 112 is placed in the storage position as shown by the solid lines in FIG. 9, the vertical dimension of the bass drum lifter 110 is not reduced so much due to the long dimension of the base 113. Accordingly, similar to the bass drum lifter 100 according to Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2006-047976, it is impossible to fold the bass drum lifter 110 compactly.